How to Deploy Training?

As you might imagine, this question has many possible answers as each organization’s unique continuous improvement goals, needs, and current knowledge base vary greatly. Though there are many possible solutions, we wanted to pare this down to a few actionable strategies, and share some of our best customers’ best practices with you.

Online Deployment

One of our largest customers, an auto parts manufacturer, leverages their company intranet’s Continuous Improvement page to easily link Gemba Academy training for their employees. They utilize a co-branded page from Gemba Academy that serves as a single access portal for all of their employees worldwide.

By making training easily available online and creating a dedicated place to find content, this company has been able to get its employees to speak a consistent language of lean and is now working to build a Six Sigma program. Other companies also build courses in their Learning Management System (LMS), which allows them to serve up content in context with other tools they may have developed internally. Gemba Academy is LMS-agnostic and can work with any system, enabling companies to pair Gemba Academy content with the training and tracking tools they’ve invested in and have already implemented.

On-Site Training

Many companies combine online "pre-work" with on-site training and reinforcement through activity-based learning. A large facilities management company takes ownership of its CI training by hosting regular meetings to watch key Gemba Academy videos in conjunction with key internal training initiatives. By planning a training schedule, they are able to maximize independent study time as well as group training sessions. Armed with laptops and break-out space, some companies also divide their associates into groups to review videos and then reconvene as a group for an improvement activity.

Hybrid, or Flipped Learning

Organizations ranging from those in government to healthcare to manufacturing, net very effective results with a hybrid or “flipped” learning model. Using this approach, trainees are responsible for reviewing content on their own prior to pre-scheduled weekly, monthly, or quarterly team meetings. Not unlike a traditional course, a “syllabus” of topics to be covered is provided to each trainee for self-study prior to the team meeting. During the team meeting, a portion of time is dedicated to discussing Gemba Academy videos and their impact on daily work, as well as ideas to test, apply, and implement what they’ve learned.

Many groups use Gemba Academy’s Excel templates for specific post-meeting applications, such as red tagging or Kaizen events. Also, the flipped model is used to actively check for knowledge retention and ensure that the learning sticks. Many companies print out Gemba Academy’s PDF quizzes, take the quiz as a group, and use this as a learning opportunity to discuss and dispel misconceptions. This topic-focused discussion helps to reinforce understanding as well as identify immediate real-world applications of Lean and Six Sigma concepts and tools.